Columns

Week one of session and… it was “déjà vu all over again” as Yogi Berra would say. We showed up to our first General Assembly day Jan. 4 and had just three Democrats colleagues in the House withholding a quorum to do business.

The letters and numerals inscribed above the doors of homes in the Belgian town had me scratching my head a few years ago, but come Friday, I may have scrawled a similar message above my door in New Boston.

20 + C + M + B + 12

Friday was the traditional day for observing Epiphany, the 12th day after Christmas.

The Twelve Days of Christmas, by the way, began Christmas Day and concluded the night of Jan. 5.

Much attention is being focused on one key issue in the upcoming legislative session: Right to Work. We are now seeing the opposition groups speak out strongly as the governor and the Speaker have made this a top priority.

Opponents have every right to share their concerns. My commitment is to share openly with you the information we have gathered in extensive hearings, meetings and research to lead us to take a position of support for RTW.

All of a sudden the state has money. The recent December forecast revision increased expected revenues by $516 million for the biennium. It’s been almost 10 years since we’ve seen that much added revenue at the start of a legislative session.

And that’s not all. Suddenly, there’s an added $288 million in state balances, the money in the state’s checking account. That’s in addition to the added forecast revenue.

Plenty of people rang in the new year with family and friends over the weekend. As the presses prepared to roll, I had no set plans for New Year’s Eve. I do, however, have some suggestions for 2012, both for myself and as food for thought for everyone.

Some of these are based off of ideas submitted by friends. Thanks to them.

The failure of the congressional “supercommittee” to reach an agreement on reducing the deficit was not just bad fiscal news. It was a significant failure of political leadership.

Not only did the committee move us one step closer to a genuine fiscal crisis, but also it put the dysfunction of Congress on full display. At a time of great economic stress, its members lost sight of what failure would cost the country in lost economic growth and foregone job creation.